This invention relates to a method and an apparatus for realizing an on-vehicle camera application requiring different angles of view.
The cameras mounted on the vehicle include a back monitor camera and a lane detecting camera for detecting the lanes ahead of the vehicle. These cameras are used to monitor the situation behind the vehicle and to detect by imaging the lanes ahead of the vehicle, respectively, and therefore, with only one angle of view required, generally uses a fixed focus lens.
On the other hand, a plurality of applications including the obstacle detection in addition to the lane detection are expected to be mounted on the vehicle as a technique to secure the vehicle safety. These applications require images of different angles of view suited to the respective purposes, and therefore, the on-vehicle camera is required to pick up an image at a plurality of angles of view. In lane detection, for example, the detection of the lanes in the vicinity of the own vehicle is required and therefore, requires a wider angle of view, while the obstacle detection requires a narrower angle of view than the lane detection to detect an obstacle distant from the vehicle.
A conventional technique for picking up an image at a plurality of angles of view with a single camera is disclosed in JP-A-2004-48295 in which the camera is equipped with a zoom mechanism which narrows the imaging range to improve the accuracy of detection of the situation in the neighborhood of the vehicle when the vehicle is stationary, and widens the imaging range to reduce the dead angle when the vehicle is running.